By: Saunders H.B. No. 1863
73R5442 JD-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to ad valorem tax relief for open-space wildlife land.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Chapter 23, Tax Code, is amended by adding
1-5 Subchapter H to read as follows:
1-6 SUBCHAPTER H. APPRAISAL OF OPEN-SPACE WILDLIFE LAND
1-7 Sec. 23.981. APPRAISAL OF QUALIFIED OPEN-SPACE WILDLIFE
1-8 LAND. (a) The appraised value of qualified open-space wildlife
1-9 land is determined by appraising the land in the same manner as
1-10 open-space land qualified under Subchapter D as if it were being
1-11 grazed by domestic livestock for commercial agricultural purposes
1-12 to the degree of intensity generally accepted in the area. A tract
1-13 consisting of fewer than 10 acres is ineligible for an open-space
1-14 wildlife land appraisal.
1-15 (b) The chief appraiser shall determine the appraised value
1-16 according to this subchapter.
1-17 (c) The chief appraiser may not change the appraised value
1-18 of open-space wildlife land unless the owner has applied for and
1-19 the land has qualified for appraisal as provided by this
1-20 subchapter, unless the change is made as a result of a reappraisal.
1-21 (d) The comptroller by rule shall develop and distribute to
1-22 each appraisal office appraisal manuals setting forth the method of
1-23 appraising qualified open-space wildlife land, and each appraisal
1-24 office shall use the appraisal manuals in appraising qualified
2-1 open-space wildlife land. The comptroller by rule shall develop
2-2 and the appraisal office shall enforce procedures to verify that
2-3 land meets the conditions contained in this subchapter. The rules,
2-4 before taking effect, must be approved by a majority vote of a
2-5 committee composed of the following officials or their designees:
2-6 the governor, the comptroller, the attorney general, the
2-7 agriculture commissioner, and the commissioner of the General Land
2-8 Office.
2-9 (e) For the purposes of Section 23.984, the chief appraiser
2-10 also shall determine the market value of qualified open-space
2-11 wildlife land and shall record both the market value and the
2-12 appraised value in the appraisal records.
2-13 Sec. 23.982. APPLICATION. (a) A person who claims that the
2-14 person's land is eligible for appraisal under this subchapter must
2-15 file a valid application with the chief appraiser.
2-16 (b) To be valid, the application must:
2-17 (1) be on a form provided by the appraisal office and
2-18 prescribed by the comptroller; and
2-19 (2) contain the information necessary to determine the
2-20 validity of the claim.
2-21 (c) The comptroller shall include on the form a notice of
2-22 the penalties prescribed by Section 37.10, Penal Code, for making
2-23 or filing an application containing a false statement. The
2-24 comptroller, in prescribing the contents of the application form,
2-25 shall require that the form permit a claimant who has previously
2-26 been allowed appraisal under this subchapter to indicate that
2-27 previously reported information has not changed and to supply only
3-1 the eligibility information not previously reported.
3-2 (d) The form must be filed before May 1. However, for good
3-3 cause the chief appraiser may extend the filing deadline for not
3-4 more than 60 days.
3-5 (e) If a person fails to file a valid application on time,
3-6 the land is ineligible for appraisal as provided by this subchapter
3-7 for that year. Once an application is filed and appraisal under
3-8 this subchapter is allowed, the land is eligible for appraisal
3-9 under this subchapter in subsequent years without a new application
3-10 unless the ownership of the land changes or its eligibility under
3-11 this subchapter ends. If the chief appraiser has good cause to
3-12 believe the land's eligibility under this subchapter has ended, the
3-13 chief appraiser may require a person allowed appraisal under this
3-14 subchapter in a prior year to file a new application to confirm
3-15 that the land is currently eligible under this subchapter by
3-16 delivering a written notice that a new application is required,
3-17 accompanied by the application form, to the person who filed the
3-18 application that was previously allowed.
3-19 (f) Each appraisal office shall make a sufficient number of
3-20 printed application forms readily available at no charge.
3-21 (g) Each year the chief appraiser for each appraisal
3-22 district shall publicize, in a manner reasonably designed to notify
3-23 all residents of the district, the requirements of this section and
3-24 the availability of application forms.
3-25 (h) A person whose land is allowed appraisal under this
3-26 subchapter shall notify the appraisal office in writing before May
3-27 1 after eligibility of the land under this subchapter ends. If a
4-1 person fails to notify the appraisal office as required by this
4-2 subsection, a penalty is imposed on the property equal to 10
4-3 percent of the difference between the taxes imposed on the property
4-4 in each year it is erroneously allowed appraisal under this
4-5 subchapter and the taxes that would otherwise have been imposed.
4-6 (i) The chief appraiser shall make an entry in the appraisal
4-7 records for the property against which the penalty is imposed
4-8 indicating liability for the penalty and shall deliver a written
4-9 notice of imposition of the penalty to the person who owns the
4-10 property. The notice shall include a brief explanation of the
4-11 procedures for protesting the imposition of the penalty. The
4-12 assessor for each taxing unit that imposed taxes on the property on
4-13 the basis of appraisal under this subchapter shall add the amount
4-14 of the penalty to the unit's tax bill for taxes on the property
4-15 against which the penalty is imposed. The penalty shall be
4-16 collected at the same time and in the same manner as the taxes on
4-17 the property against which the penalty is imposed. The amount of
4-18 the penalty constitutes a lien on the property against which the
4-19 penalty is imposed and accrues penalty and interest in the same
4-20 manner as a delinquent tax.
4-21 (j) If the chief appraiser discovers that appraisal under
4-22 this subchapter has been erroneously allowed in any one of the 10
4-23 preceding years because of failure of the person whose land was
4-24 allowed appraisal under this subchapter to give notice that its
4-25 eligibility has ended, the chief appraiser shall add the difference
4-26 between the appraised value of the land under this subchapter and
4-27 the market value of the land to the appraisal roll as provided by
5-1 Section 25.21 for other property that escapes taxation.
5-2 Sec. 23.983. LATE APPLICATION FOR APPRAISAL AS WILDLIFE
5-3 LAND. (a) The chief appraiser shall accept and approve or deny an
5-4 application for appraisal under this subchapter after the deadline
5-5 for filing it has passed if it is filed before approval of the
5-6 appraisal records by the appraisal review board.
5-7 (b) If appraisal under this subchapter is approved when the
5-8 application is filed late, the owner is liable for a penalty of 10
5-9 percent of the difference between the amount of tax imposed on the
5-10 property and the amount that would be imposed if the property were
5-11 taxed at market value.
5-12 (c) The chief appraiser shall make an entry on the appraisal
5-13 records indicating the person's liability for the penalty and shall
5-14 deliver written notice of imposition of the penalty, explaining the
5-15 reason for its imposition, to the person.
5-16 (d) The tax assessor for a taxing unit that taxes land based
5-17 on an appraisal under this subchapter after a late application
5-18 shall add the amount of the penalty to the owner's tax bill, and
5-19 the tax collector for the unit shall collect the penalty at the
5-20 time and in the manner the collector collects the tax. The amount
5-21 of the penalty constitutes a lien against the property against
5-22 which the penalty is imposed, as if it were a tax, and accrues
5-23 penalty and interest in the same manner as a delinquent tax.
5-24 Sec. 23.984. CHANGE OF USE OF LAND. (a) If the use of land
5-25 that has been appraised as provided by this subchapter changes, an
5-26 additional tax is imposed on the land equal to the difference
5-27 between the taxes imposed on the land for each of the five years
6-1 preceding the year in which the change of use occurs that the land
6-2 was appraised as provided by this subchapter and the tax that would
6-3 have been imposed had the land been taxed on the basis of market
6-4 value in each of those years, plus interest at an annual rate of
6-5 seven percent calculated from the dates on which the differences
6-6 would have become due.
6-7 (b) A tax lien attaches to the land on the date the change
6-8 of use occurs to secure payment of the additional tax and interest
6-9 imposed by this section and any penalties incurred. The lien
6-10 exists in favor of all taxing units for which the additional tax is
6-11 imposed.
6-12 (c) The additional tax imposed by this section does not
6-13 apply to a year for which the tax has already been imposed.
6-14 (d) If the change of use applies to only part of a parcel
6-15 that has been appraised as provided by this subchapter, the
6-16 additional tax applies only to that part of the parcel and equals
6-17 the difference between the taxes imposed on that part of the parcel
6-18 and the taxes that would have been imposed had that part been taxed
6-19 on the basis of market value.
6-20 (e) A determination that a change in use of the land has
6-21 occurred is made by the chief appraiser. The chief appraiser shall
6-22 deliver a notice of the determination to the owner of the land as
6-23 soon as possible after making the determination and shall include
6-24 in the notice an explanation of the owner's right to protest the
6-25 determination. If the owner does not file a timely protest or if
6-26 the final determination of the protest is that the additional taxes
6-27 are due, the assessor for each taxing unit shall prepare and
7-1 deliver a bill for the additional taxes plus interest as soon as
7-2 practicable. The taxes and interest are due and become delinquent
7-3 and incur penalties and interest as provided by law for ad valorem
7-4 taxes imposed by the taxing unit if not paid before the next
7-5 February 1 that is at least 20 days after the date the bill is
7-6 delivered to the owner of the land.
7-7 (f) The sanctions provided by Subsection (a) do not apply if
7-8 the change of use occurs as a result of a sale for right-of-way or
7-9 a condemnation.
7-10 (g) If the use of the land changes to a use that qualifies
7-11 under Subchapter E, the sanctions provided by Subsection (a) do not
7-12 apply.
7-13 (h) A taxing unit shall credit a taxpayer an amount equal to
7-14 the amount collected from the taxpayer by the taxing unit under
7-15 Subsection (a) if:
7-16 (1) the land qualifies for appraisal under Subchapter
7-17 C on or before the fourth year after the year in which the change
7-18 of use occurred; or
7-19 (2) the land qualifies for appraisal as open-space
7-20 land under Subchapter D on or before the sixth year after the year
7-21 in which the change of use occurred.
7-22 (i) The collector for the taxing unit shall apply the amount
7-23 of the credit under Subsection (h) in payment of taxes due the unit
7-24 on the property in issue. Subsection (h) and this subsection do
7-25 not authorize a refund to the taxpayer of the amount paid under
7-26 Subsection (h).
7-27 (j) The use of land does not change for purposes of
8-1 Subsection (a) solely because the owner of the land claims it as
8-2 part of the owner's residence homestead for purposes of Section
8-3 11.13.
8-4 Sec. 23.985. LAND INELIGIBLE FOR APPRAISAL AS OPEN-SPACE
8-5 WILDLIFE LAND. Land is not eligible for appraisal as provided by
8-6 this subchapter if:
8-7 (1) the land is located inside the corporate limits of
8-8 an incorporated city or town, unless:
8-9 (A) the city or town is not providing the land
8-10 with governmental and proprietary services substantially equivalent
8-11 in standard and scope to those services it provides in other parts
8-12 of the city or town with similar topography, land utilization, and
8-13 population density; or
8-14 (B) the land has been open-space wildlife land
8-15 continuously for the preceding five years;
8-16 (2) the land is owned by an individual who is a
8-17 nonresident alien or by a foreign government if that individual or
8-18 government is required by federal law or by rule adopted pursuant
8-19 to federal law to register his ownership or acquisition of that
8-20 property; or
8-21 (3) the land is owned by a corporation, partnership,
8-22 trust, or other legal entity if the entity is required by federal
8-23 law or by rule adopted pursuant to federal law to register its
8-24 ownership or acquisition of that land and a nonresident alien or a
8-25 foreign government or any combination of nonresident aliens and
8-26 foreign governments own a majority interest in the entity.
8-27 Sec. 23.986. ACTION ON APPLICATIONS. (a) The chief
9-1 appraiser shall determine separately each applicant's right to have
9-2 land appraised under this subchapter. After considering the
9-3 application and all relevant information, the chief appraiser
9-4 shall, as the law and facts warrant:
9-5 (1) approve the application and allow appraisal under
9-6 this subchapter;
9-7 (2) disapprove the application and request additional
9-8 information from the applicant in support of the claim; or
9-9 (3) deny the application.
9-10 (b) If the chief appraiser requests additional information
9-11 from an applicant, the applicant must furnish it within 30 days
9-12 after the date of the request or the application is denied. For
9-13 good cause shown the chief appraiser may extend the deadline for
9-14 furnishing the information by written order for a single period not
9-15 to exceed 15 days.
9-16 (c) The chief appraiser shall determine the validity of each
9-17 application for appraisal filed under this subchapter before the
9-18 chief appraiser submits the appraisal records for review and
9-19 determination of protests as provided by Chapter 41.
9-20 (d) If the chief appraiser denies an application, the chief
9-21 appraiser shall deliver a written notice of the denial to the
9-22 applicant within five days after the date the determination is
9-23 made. The chief appraiser shall include with the notice a brief
9-24 explanation of the procedures for protesting the determination and
9-25 a full explanation of the reasons for denial of the application.
9-26 SECTION 2. Section 23.55(g), Tax Code, is amended to read as
9-27 follows:
10-1 (g) If the use of the land changes to a use that qualifies
10-2 under Subchapter E or Subchapter H <of this chapter>, the sanctions
10-3 provided by Subsection (a) <of this section> do not apply.
10-4 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect on the date on which the
10-5 constitutional amendment proposed by the 73rd Legislature, Regular
10-6 Session, to authorize ad valorem tax relief for the preservation of
10-7 land to support wildlife, takes effect. If that amendment is not
10-8 approved by the voters, this Act has no effect.
10-9 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
10-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
10-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
10-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
10-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.